The Grand County High School track team took first place at the season-opening Red Rocks Invitational meet in Moab on Saturday, March 8.

The Red Devils earned a combined 354 points, more than double the total of their closest competitor, Carbon High School, which finished in second place with 167 points. In third place was San Juan with 156 points. The Red Devil boys earned 203 points and the Lady Devils had 151, placing both Grand teams in first place. In second place in the boys’ category was San Juan with 138 points, while Carbon placed second among the girls’ teams with 114 points.

“Our boys could have scored more points, but we had some key athletes competing in only one or two events because it is early in the season,” said GCHS head coach Dennis Wells, who added, “Either they weren’t ready or I didn’t want to push them too hard early in the season.”

GCHS senior Jacob Francis won the only event he competed in, the 3,200-meter run, finishing in a time of 10 minutes, 20 seconds, which qualified him for state. Teammate Andrew Hugentobler, a junior, took second in that same race, crossing the finish line in 11:23. Freshman Cameron Wakefield tied for fifth with a time of 12:38.

In the 1,600-meter run, senior Jackson Knowles placed second with a time of 4:59. Hugentobler took fourth in that race with a time of 5:22, and Wakefield was eighth with a time of 5:43.

The GCHS boys swept the top three spots in the 110-meter hurdles, with senior Wade Kemmsies taking first place with a time of 16.12 seconds. Fellow senior Andy Bathemess took second with a time of 16.18, just .06 of a second behind Kemmsies. Both were state-qualifying times, according to coach Wells. Sophomore Josh Stalpes was third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 19.27, while freshman Gage Souza placed sixth with a time of 21.39.

Grand also took the top three spots in the 300-meter hurdles, with Bathemess placing first in 41.48, Kemmsies placing second in 43.17, and Jordan Bryant, also a senior, placing third in 47.05.

In the boys’ 100-meter dash, GCHS senior Koi Cook took seventh in a time of 12.03 seconds, while junior Koby Sobremesana placed eighth with a time of 12.06.

Kemmsies won the 200-meter dash in a time of 23.70, while Bryant placed third with a time of 24.02.

Mason Tranter, a junior, took fourth in the 400-meter race with a time of 56.24 seconds. Senior Layton Call earned a point in that same race by finishing eighth in a time of 59.39.

The GCHS boys placed first in the medley relay with a time of 3:59.41, qualifying them for state. Running in that race were Knowles, Tranter, Bryant, and Garrett Brown. The GCHS boys also took first in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:50.33. Running in that event were Bathemess, Kemmsies, Bryant and Tranter.

In field events, GCHS senior Edgar Gomez placed second in the discus throw, posting a best distance of 114 feet, 8 inches, which qualified him for state. Fellow senior David Bentley placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 109 feet, 6 inches.

Gomez placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 40 feet, 6.5 inches. Bentley finished sixth in that event with a throw of 37 feet, 3 inches. Adam Flanders, a junior, placed seventh with a throw of 33 feet, 6 inches.

In the boys’ javelin, GCHS junior Richie Cordero placed first with a state-qualifying throw of 146 feet, 10 inches. Fellow junior Qordale Tsosie took second with a throw of 131 feet, 6 inches. Stalpes placed fourth with a throw of 117 feet, 5 inches.

In the high jump, senior Trevor Bertuzzi tied for third place with a leap of 5 feet, 6 inches. Cook placed sixth in that event by clearing 5 feet, 4 inches. Stalpes took sixth in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 5 inches.

For the Lady Devils, senior Mercedes James placed third in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:33, while freshman teammate Jayelen Knowles was fourth with a time of 13:36. Sophomore Sadie Bown finished seventh with a time of 14:04, and sophomore Annie Heywood placed 11th.

James also placed second in the 1600-meter run. Her time of 6:11 was just two seconds behind the winner, freshman Morgan Benton of Monument Valley, Ariz. Knowles and Bown finished fifth and sixth in the 1,600-meter race, posting respective times of 6:31 and 6:34.

Also, in the girls’ 800-meter run, sophomore Lauren Drake took second in 2:49. Knowles was fifth in 2:56 and Bown was sixth in 2:57.

In the girls 100-meter hurdles, senior Tiffanie Whipple took fifth with a time of 18.78 seconds. In the 300-meter hurdles, sophomore Hannah Rice took fifth with a time of 57.01.

The Lady Devils took three of the four top spots in the 100-meter dash, with sophomore Kwincey Wells placing second in 13.59 seconds, senior Malina Bohannon taking third in 13.66, and senior Shailee Croasmun placing fourth in 13.85. Wells also placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.23.

The Lady Devils also placed first in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 55.21 seconds. Competing in that event were Bohannon, Haley Rice, Lindsey Meadows, and Croasmun.

In field events, senior Madison Stocks placed second in the shot put with a throw of 30 feet, 2 inches. Teammate Britnee Lewis, a sophomore, placed fourth with a throw of 27 feet, 10 inches. Symony Call, also a sophomore, placed seventh with a throw of 25 feet, 10.5 inches.

Stocks took second in the discus throw, posting a distance of 98 feet, which was just 2.5 inches behind the best throw of the winner, Tayla Topaha of Montezuma-Cortez, Colo. Stocks qualified for the state meet in the discus. Kayeley Wells, a senior at GCHS, placed fourth with a throw of 88 feet.

Bohannon took second in the javelin throw with a toss of 92 feet, 4 inches. Hannah Rice took fourth in that same event, posting a throw of 73 feet, 6 inches.

Whipple took second in the long jump, with her best leap measuring 15 feet, 3.5 inches. Kwincey Wells placed fourth in that event with a jump of 14 feet, 8 inches.

“The girls did surprisingly well,” Wells added. “They have a lot of work to do, but I like how hard they have been working.”

Grand’s next track meet will be at Kayenta, Ariz., on Tuesday, March 18.

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